# Cabinet to Humidor Project Reboot(New Cabinet)



## Whiskey (May 6, 2014)

So I decided to scrap the plans on converting the old cabinet. It was going to be to hard to seal up the doors with the way the cabinet was designed. I figured I would make a clean thread instead of continuing the old one. Found the new one on Craigs List and got it for $150.

Interior dimensions are 23"W x 14"D x 57"T . 18,354 cubic inches or 10.6 cubic feet of space.

 

Questions:

For a cabinet this size do I have to go active? Avallo or Hydra-LG from Heartfelt? Or can I use beads, I currently have 2lbs and according to the calculator 3lbs would do it. Then maybe add a computer fan for circulation?
With a cabinet this size could does the entire inside need to be lined in spanish cedar? Could I do the walls in something like a veneered plywood(Baltic Birch or do I need to attempt to veneer something with spanish cedar since I can't find it already done?) Then trim everything with 3/8" cedar and do the shelves in cedar? I just am worried about too much cedar and everything I smoke smelling like I am smoking a plank of sc.
If I did the walls in something other than cedar I would assume there would still be plenty of cedar in the cabinet with the shelves and trim?
GE kitchen and bath 100% silicon good to go?
If I am freezing all of my cigars before they enter the humidor, and keep the humidity at 65% how important is it to keep the temp below 70 degrees? My current cooler is stable and stays between 73-75 during the summer, and 69-71 during the winter but without going to a cooling option there is really no way for me to keep them under 70 degrees during the summer due to the Texas heat.

I have sourced my cedar from Woodcraft and am currently just waiting for it to ship(3/8" x 3 x 36") is back ordered at the moment. The cabinet is from craigs list. I plan on installing a 3-4 strips of LED lights after I remove the current light at the top of the cabinet. I will post which one I go with. The cabinet had 6 wine bottle shelves(not counting the one on the bottom) and a rack for glasses at the top. I am going to go for 7 shelves I think with plenty of room on the top and bottom for boxes.

I will update as I move forward. Just a waiting game on the cedar right now.

wine racks removed.


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## TreySC (May 30, 2014)

Don't have the answers to your questions, just wanted to say that is a nice looking cabinet to start with and I'm interested to see how this goes. Are you going to leave the finish the way it is?


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## Whiskey (May 6, 2014)

On the outside yes. I don't see any reason in changing the finish on the inside since it will be lined anyway so you won't be able to see any of it.


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## TreySC (May 30, 2014)

I think it looks good as is. With the inside being natural wood should be a nice contrast


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## quo155 (Aug 10, 2010)

Brad...what a sweet find & deal! That looks sharp! I can see how this cabinet will be better than the previous one...in all sorts of ways! Congrats on the deal!

On to some of your questions...

Knowing the specific area you are in...I'd say that beads are all that you need. I think with this size and our humidity...you'll be just fine. However do circulate the air, a few small PC fans is about all you'll need.

As far as lining the inside, really...if you're building shelves and such out of SC, then you should be able to "finish" it any way you want. All SC would be nice...and possibly best, but at what cost? And, you can never have too much SC in there...the cigar will only take in so much. It's no different than one that wrapped in a thin slice of cedar.

If you're keeping this in the house (climate controlled)...you should be just fine on temp. I'd just watch it over time...but with good airflow (from the PC fans) and the beads...you'll be fine where you live.

All that, JMHO!

Looking forward to following your project!


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## baust55 (Sep 8, 2013)

do some searches on kitty litter beads . thrifty work good .


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## Senor_Perfecto (Apr 2, 2014)

Since you are going to have moisture and cigars in there, I know it will be a pain, but I highly recommend stripping the finish off the inside. Your cedar won't be airtight and there's a likelihood that once humidity is introduced you'll get odor seepage from the paint/stain into your cigars.


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## Whiskey (May 6, 2014)

I was planning on lining the interior with some reflective insulation and attempting to seal it as best as possible with foil tape and silicone. Do you think it would still be wise to sand down the finish on the interior?

Here is an example of what I was planning on using.


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## Senor_Perfecto (Apr 2, 2014)

If that creates a vapor barrier (and doesn't have its own odor...) you'll be fine.


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## Emperor Zurg (May 6, 2013)

Well I think I'd put 1 of those bottle racks back in near the top and use it as a gun case.
The drawer at the bottom is for bullets and magazines.

Failing that, I'd hole saw a pattern in the floor of the cabinet and fill the drawer below with Kitty Litter for your humidification.... maybe with one bigger hole strategically placed for a muffin fan to move the air around... you could even connect the fan to a duct of some sort so as to direct the airflow to the top of the cabinet, making a nice loop for the air to circulate.


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## Whiskey (May 6, 2014)

Haha, don't think I will be using it as a gun case, that's what gun safes are for.


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## Whiskey (May 6, 2014)

Senor_Perfecto said:


> Since you are going to have moisture and cigars in there, I know it will be a pain, but I highly recommend stripping the finish off the inside. Your cedar won't be airtight and there's a likelihood that once humidity is introduced you'll get odor seepage from the paint/stain into your cigars.


Just went out into the garage and test sanded a spot on the inside and what I thought was paint is actually a black laminate of some sort as far as I can tell. Oh well, I am going to line it all anyway with the foil insulation and then line it with sc.


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## Whiskey (May 6, 2014)

Small update(waiting on $80 of more spanish cedar  )

I ended up sanding the interior to get rid of the finish that was there. I then lined it was a thin layer of foil type insulation and sealed everything with silicon and foil tape. I have also lined the interior with a layer of baltic birch as I think I am going to go with a paneled look inside(if that doesn't look good I will just line the entire thing). It looks like I am going to be able to have 6 decent sized shelves which will all be made out of 3/8" cedar planks. All of the trim and raised portion of the panels will be 3/8" spanish cedar. It already smells amazing with just part of it in spanish cedar and no shelves. The frame/seal part was made out of 3/4" spanish cedar ripped into strips to make a seal with screws counter sunk which will be covered by a spanish cedar strip. It already has a decent seal but I am going to put a small strip weather stripping around the seal on the door(black door and black seal so it won't be very noticeable) to make sure I have minimal leaks, especially on the hinge side.

I was short a few pieces of cedar so I am waiting on that to arrive and I should be able to finish the trim pieces and the rest of the cedar as well as install all the shelves. I will post the hopefully completed and seasoning in progress pictures once the rest of my cedar arrives. All of my shelf pieces are cut and ready to go so it shouldn't take that long.

 

 

 

Additional information:

I insulated it in case I want to add a TEC at some point. I already have the spot ready for it and cut out at the top of the cabinet(where a light used to be), so all I will have to do is cut through the birch plywood and install. For now I am going to see how it works with 4 pounds of beads(since I already have 2) and a couple of 120mm case fans on low speed. Lighting is going to be a couple of LED strips I think mounted on the under side of a couple of the shelves. I will make the final decision on that once the shelves are installed.

Once all the cedar is installed I will do the final sanding of rough areas, etc. I am sanding everything before install.


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## Whiskey (May 6, 2014)

Finally just about finished. Now I only need to install my fans and led strip which I hope to get done this week. It's in the seasoning process now.


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## JustinThyme (Jun 17, 2013)

Very Nice!


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## tym2relax (Oct 3, 2007)

All I can say is Wow, and I'm jealous!


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## MDSPHOTO (Sep 10, 2013)

Whiskey said:


> Finally just about finished. Now I only need to install my fans and led strip which I hope to get done this week. It's in the seasoning process now.


Whoa, whoa, whoaaaaaaaaa! You skipped a whole bunch of steps! We left off on "I'm waiting for more cedar" and now you're done?! We need pics of how you made and installed the shelves. How did you create a seal for the door. It looks great by the way.


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## Nature (Jul 30, 2012)

Very nice! Make sure to update us with pics when it is filled up!


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## Whiskey (May 6, 2014)

The shelves are not exactly what I wanted but they will do. There is a 3/8"x2" strip of cedar on each side of the cabinet that the shelves are sitting on. You can kind of see the pieces that the shelves are sitting on underneath the top shelf.

I used a 3/8"x2 strip to trim the face of each shelf as well as a backer for each shelf(I left a small 1" gap behind all the shelves for added air flow). I wanted to make the shelves removable, but after spending a bunch of time on one I decided I didn't really need them to be removable so I just tacked the 3/8"x2" strips in on each side with a brad(no glue so it can still move a little if needed). I don't have any pictures of installing the shelves but it was pretty easy.

The seal
I took a 3/4" x 4" x 48" cedar board and ripped it down into 1" wide strips and made the seal out of that. I countersunk stainless screws to hold the seal in place, and then used a piece of 1/4"x2" piece of cedar to trim over the countersunk screws.



I think took a thin(don't remember the thickness but it was the thinnest one they had) strip of weather sealing on put it on the inside of the door where it comes in contact with the cedar seal. I used a magnet cabinet catch/holder at the top and bottom of the door to keep the door closed tightly.

It's only been seasoning since yesterday but seems to seal decently as far as I can tell. I have wiped the shelves down a couple of times very lightly with distilled water as well as have bowls of dw or beads on each shelf. It is up to 60% Rh as of about 30 minutes ago.


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## JustinThyme (Jun 17, 2013)

Where did you source the spanish cedar from. Im looking for a good supplier for a project I have.


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## Trackmyer (Jun 6, 2014)

Brad, the shelves look like they have no large spaces between boards. How are you circulating air from bottom of unit to top of unit? It appears that there is a small space between rear of cab. and rear of shelf. But is this enough to get air to circulate well?
Just curious. Overall it looks like a wonderful cabinet. I wish my house was more temperature stable so I could have something like this. Very nice job, well done.


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## Whiskey (May 6, 2014)

Trackmyer said:


> Brad, the shelves look like they have no large spaces between boards. How are you circulating air from bottom of unit to top of unit? It appears that there is a small space between rear of cab. and rear of shelf. But is this enough to get air to circulate well?
> Just curious. Overall it looks like a wonderful cabinet. I wish my house was more temperature stable so I could have something like this. Very nice job, well done.


There are 1/4" spaces between the slats that make up the shelves. It's just not showing up in those pictures. The below picture shows at least the first space or two but it's hard to take a picture that really shows all of them. And yes there is about a 1" gap behind the shelves and about 1.5"s from the front of the shelf to the glass.


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## Whiskey (May 6, 2014)

JustinThyme said:


> Where did you source the spanish cedar from. Im looking for a good supplier for a project I have.


Got it all from WoodCraft. They have a location that is a few miles from my house but only had 1 piece of 1/4" sc and said that it would be about 2 weeks if they ordered for me since they only order on Tuesdays(it was a Tuesday afternoon when I went in so they would have to wait until the next week to order). So I just got on their website and ordered. My first order took a little longer since the 3/8" stuff was on back order, but the second order got to me in less than a week.

Search for Woodworking Supplies at Woodcraft.com


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## MacWebDev (Jul 1, 2014)

Looks great! I'm sure it will be even better with lights in and the shelves loaded. 
:thumb:


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## Senor_Perfecto (Apr 2, 2014)

This is a real work of art. Kudos, sir.


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## Whiskey (May 6, 2014)

Still need to do a better job of organizing and I still need to mount the hygrometers but here she is with everything in it. The cabinet held at 64rh since yesterday evening so I figured it was time.Between my 150ct desktop and 150qt cooler I had more than I thought lol. Like I said, I still want to reorganize a portion of it, mainly the trays and singles but I figured the door had been open long enough so closed it up. Don't mind the hygro readings in the picture, they had been sitting on my desk and had just placed them back in the cabinet.

I installed the LED lights(from Ikea) last night. Nothing special, just some heavy duty double sided tape, 2 strips at the top, and 2 about half way down behind a shelf. I also made a semi box and mounted a fan at the top of the cabinet. The "box" around the fan is only 3 sided(open at the back), and has holes drilled on the sides. More for aesthetics than anything else. I figured I would start with 1 fan and if I need to add another.


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## Indy-hp (Feb 22, 2014)

Very nice! You do good work.


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## Fat Cobra (Oct 13, 2013)

Brad,
Very nice job. Makes me want to go out to the garage and start a new project.


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## jimmyv723 (Jul 2, 2014)

That came out killer... Very nice job.


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## 223Patriot (Jul 28, 2015)

Very nice project! Can't say I've seen anybody use Baltic Birch as an interior lining before, although I am no expert. 

I have a few questions about using that as a liner:
- I'm guessing it's plywood, what thickness did you use?
- Is there a particular "grade" of baltic birch that you used?
- Has it stood up to the humid environment? Any warping or unwanted smells?
- Have you noticed any negatives to going that route?

I'm currently in the planning stages for a similar, albeit smaller scale, project. I am curious to hear how this worked out for you.


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